2013 Playoffs: Matchups in Pacers vs. Heat
By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Correspondent
Dwyane Wade claims he knew all along it was going to come to this: the Indiana Pacers against the Miami Heat, the defending champions against the team with the $78 million big-man duo, a blue-chip talent at small forward and something to prove. It is a matchup of the best offensive team in the NBA against the best defensive team in the NBA, an Eastern Conference finals that has star power, mutual dislike, contrasting styles, physicality and storylines. The Heat are trying to defend their title as the Pacers attempt to return to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2000. How do these clubs match up? Let’s dig in.
SMALL FORWARD: LeBron James vs. Paul George
James is the best player in the game and has been for eight years. This is his opportunity to complete one of the best two-year runs by a player in NBA history, with two MVP awards, two all-defensive first team selections and perhaps two world championships. He is big and strong and added an excellent 3-point stroke to his arsenal this year. Good luck. George will draw the assignment, and he is an outstanding defender, one of the few in the league who can match James’ length and challenge his shots. Trouble is, James outweighs him by at least 30 pounds and knows George well from their time together off the court. George must save some energy for the offensive end, because he’s Indiana’s leading scorer in the playoffs at 19.1 points per game. He’s been the top distributor, as well.
EDGE: Heat
POWER FORWARD: Udonis Haslem vs. David West
Haslem is a solid defender and rebounder, a veteran warrior who will use his strength to bang down low despite being undersized at 6-foot-8. West was brilliant offensively against Miami in the regular season, and his skills on that end are miles beyond Haslem’s. This is a large advantage for the Pacers that they must find a way to exploit repeatedly in sets, particularly because Haslem sees lesser chunks of playing time as the game goes on and the Heat bring in smaller subs to try to spread the floor. West is so productive and the Pacers need him to be a big factor against the soft underbelly of the Miami defense. He’ll deliver when it counts most.
EDGE: Pacers
CENTER: Chris Bosh vs. Roy Hibbert
Hibbert has strength and brawn. Bosh, even at 6-11, moves around like a deer, and that’s his counter. Each of these fine, highly compensated performers causes real problems for the other. Hibbert is a better rebounder and defender. Bosh scores and shoots as well as any big man in the league. After struggling early in the season, Hibbert’s confidence is back. The 7-2 giant is playing the best ball of his career. Hibbert will try to punish Bosh from the post, while the less famous member of the Big Three will come back with repeated attempts to draw Hibbert out of the lane with midrange jump shooting. Expect the residual impact of all these tiny subplots to be a draw, unless one player spends significantly more time in foul trouble.
EDGE: Even
SHOOTING GUARD: Dwyane Wade vs. Lance Stephenson
Wade is perhaps two-thirds of his usual self because of ongoing soreness in his right knee. When healthy, he’s Miami’s No. 2 scorer and facilitator, an accomplished guard surely headed for the Hall of Fame. When not healthy – such as when he shot 18-for-58 in the first three games of last year’s second round against the Pacers – Wade can be a drain on the offense because he does not take or make 3-pointers. Prepare for a nightly drama over the status of Wade’s leg. Stephenson, meanwhile, is coming off the game of his life against New York when the young X-factor scored 25 points and took 10 rebounds in the Game 6 clincher. His job is not to match Wade point for point but to try to make Wade’s life as miserable as possible in this series.
EDGE: Heat
POINT GUARD: Mario Chalmers vs. George Hill
Here’s where the Pacers appear to have another large advantage and should make hay. At 6-2 and 190 pounds, Chalmers can keep up with Hill in terms of size but not in many other respects. Hill is a superior scorer, defender, rebounder and passer. Well over half of Chalmers’ shot attempts come from behind the arc, and his turnover ratio ranks near the bottom among starting point guards. Hill never turns the ball over and has become a master of making difficult floaters, runners and other assorted odd shots from the middle part of the floor. Chalmers is a minor character in this drama, so Hill needs to kick some serious butt.
EDGE: Pacers
THE BENCHES:
Miami’s bench is so much better than it was four months ago, and demonstrably better than it was this time last year. Ray Allen was added in the offseason and Chris Andersen in late January, playing alongside holdovers Norris Cole and Shane Battier, who were each more comfortable and effective in their second season with the Heat. Indiana’s bench remains a big concern. Ian Mahinmi is a foul-prone center who’s scored in double figures once since Feb. 13. D.J. Augustin is an inconsistent point guard who’s posted more than four assists just four times since Jan. 8. He’s at least been a source of scoring in the playoffs. Tyler Hansbrough had a poor series against the Knicks. Sam Young is the best bet to back up George and Stephenson on the wing in this series. It’s jumbled, to say the least.
EDGE: Heat
COACHING:
In Miami’s 4-2 defeat of the Pacers in the second round last May, Erik Spoelstra outmaneuvered Frank Vogel to the degree that, after the series was over, headlines emerged such as, -Erik Spoelstra wins chess match over Frank Vogel” and -Second-guessing Frank Vogel.” In Game 4 of that series, Indiana’s coach, then in his first year, committed his worst error, leaving Hibbert and West on the bench for nearly nine minutes after each picked up a fourth foul late in the third quarter. The Pacers went on to lose that game and a series in which Vogel inexplicably used lineups that included five bench players. While Spoelstra finished four games ahead of Vogel in the 2011-12 standings, the fifth-year Heat coach widened that gap to 16.5 games this season, a testament to how well he has developed an unconventional yet unbeatable small-ball system. Spoelstra has more experience. He won a championship. He’s one of the best coaches in the league. And he bested Vogel head-to-head last time. For those reasons, he has the edge.
EDGE: Heat
